Fire-escape.



J. J. QUINN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION IILED'MAR. 20, 1913 1,086,617, Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

MR k 1 v 3 WWW JOHN J. QUINN, OF NEW?! YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 20, 1913.

liatent-ed Feb. iltl, fillet.

Serial No. 755,754.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN J. QUINN? a citizen of the United States. and a resident of the borough of Bronx, city, comity, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Es capes, of which the following is a description in such full, clear, and exact terms as will enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of fire escapes which are designed to allow the person to escape from the building by a window or other opening above the ground and to descend through the medium of a rope or cord provided with some means for regulating the speed of the descent.

The invention resides in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts which will be fully described herein after and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is now had to the accompanying drawings in which-- Figure 1 represents a sectional. elevation of the invention and Fig. 2 represents an elevational view on a reduced scale showing the preferred manner of attaching the device to a window.

The invention may be attached to the building in any desired situation, but I pie for to mount it on the window frame at the outside of the building within convenient reach of the person escaping as shown in Fig. 2. For this purpose I provide brackets 10 which are suitably fastened to the frame of the building preferably at the lower vertical side of the Window and these brackets carry a pin or pintle 11 which is mounted vertically in the brackets to turn therein and has a horizontally disposed threaded rod 12 rigidly attached to it through the medium of a web or other suitable element 14. This threaded rod 12 is, therefore, free to swing in a horizontal plane and it is braced against vertical displacement by an arm 15, the inner end of which is fastened on and turns with the pin 11 while the other end is connected with the outer end of the rod 12 by means of a link 16. This arrangement mounts the rod so that it may swing horizontally outward from the window as shown in Fig. 2 or inward to position opposite to that shown in Fig. 2 in which latter position the arm or rod 12 will lie against the window. The first position is that which the device assm when in operation and the second pr. ion is that which it assumes when not in use. it each end of the threaded rod is arranged a. heavy coiled spring 17. The outer ends of these springs are properly fastened to the rod 12 through the mediun'i of flanges 18 while the inner ends of said springs are free. but are connected in any convenient man ner to buffer plates 19. These plates are free to slide on the rod with the extension and contraction of the springs 17. A. sleeve or hub 20 is internally threaded and fitted on the threaded rod 12 liietween the butter plates 19 and this sleeve carries suitable flanges forming two reels or drums 2i and 22. the same having :t'airleader bars or equivalent; means for guiding the cords or ropes 24 (see 2) which are wound cppositely on their respective reels. That is to say, one cord or rope 24 is wound on its reel in one direction and the other cord or rope 1s wound on its reel in the opposite direction so that while one cord is unwinding from its reel the o her cord will he windingon its reel. The said cords or ropes 24 are provided with suitable device 251w which they may be connected with a sho or strap in which the person escaping est.

It will be seen that the unit l .g' of the ropes or cords 24- will cause the sleeve 0 hub 20 and its attached drum flanges to turn on the threaded shaft or rod 12 and in so turning the drum will travel along the rod. This movement of the drum longitudinally on the rod in one direct-ion or ahother will bring the drum into engagement with one or the other of the springs 17 and said springs will then check the movement of the drum. The springs are for the purpose of checking the movement of the drum partic ularly the drum reaches the cnds of its movements so as to check he descent of the person escaping from the building.

it hen the device is not in use it should be suitably folded alongside of the window and a protecting box or cover may if desired be provided for it when not in use. ln the use of the device the rod 12 and its attachments are thrown out to the positions shown in 2 and the rope 2a which is unwound from its reel is thrown down out of the way. The person escaping then connects a suitable sling or strap with the rope 24.- which is wound up on the reel and lowers himself lit) from the window. Meanwhile the reel is screwing itself along the rod 12 in one direction or the other according to the direction of rotation of the reel. As the reel approaches the end of the rod it strikes one or the other of the buffer plates 19 and the corresponding spring is compressed and checks the further movement of the reel until finally the movement of the reel is arrested.

The pitch of the threads on the rod 12, the length of the ropes or cords 24: and the other necessary proportions of the device are so arranged that the rope will be approximately unwound and the reel will be at the end of the shaft 12 with the adjacent spring 17 compressed at the time that the person descending reaches the ground. Of course, these proportions ill 'ary with the varying heights of the locations of the fire escapes on the buildin the threads being shorter for higher elevations and other proportions being correspondingly altered.

I desire it understood that the construction which I have here illustrated and described represents the preferred form of the invention, but not necessarily the only form which it may take and, therefore, that I am not limited to the precise details shown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-- ters Patent'oi' the United States is:

1. In a fire escape the combination of a threaded rod means for supporting it, a double reel having threads engaging the threads on the rod, cords wound oppositely Copies of this patent may be obtained for on the double reel and bufiers at the ends of the threaded rod.

2. In a fire escape the combination of a threaded rot, means for supporting it, a double reel having threads engaging the threads on the rod, cords wound oppositely on the double reel and butters at the ends of the threaded rod, said buffers comprising springs coiled around the rod at its ends.

3. In a fire escape the combination of a threaded rod, means for supporting it, a double reel having threads engaging the threads on the rod, cords wound oppositely on the double reel and bufiers at the ends of the threaded rod, said bufiers comprising springs coiled around the rod at its ends and butter disks at the inner ends of the springs.

4-. In a fire escape the combination of a threaded rod, means for mounting it at its inner end to swing in a horizontal plane, a supporting bar also arranged to swing in a horizontal plane, said bar connected with the rod at its free end a reel having threads engaging the threads of the rod and furnished with a rope or cord for the purpose specified and a bar on the rod at one end thereof to check the movement of the reel to its extreme position. v

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN J. QUINN.

Witnesses Isaac B. OWENS, SYDNEY Pl. GIELLERUP.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents, Washington, I). C. 

